Boykin's Tavern is a rare surviving example of the hostelries once common in Virginia courthouse complexes, where they offered food and accommodations for people attending court. The original structure was built in the late 18th century for Maj. Francis Boykin, a Revolutionary War officer who represented Isle of Wight County in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1787 to 1792 and served the county as a sheriff and a justice of the peace. Boykin donated two acres of adjoining land to the county in 1800 and erected several of the court buildings. Boykin's Tavern was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.